Across The Hall
by mermaid12108
Summary: Clary has a problem. As if moving from her life home wasn't bad enough, now she's got another problem on her hands—a big one. And it all comes down to one name and a million steps back: Jace Herondale.
1. Prologue

**Chapter Song(s):**

**The Sun Is Rising~Britt Nicole **

**Tomorrow~Avril Lavigne **

**When The Darkness Comes~Colbie Caillat **

* * *

Moving, sucks. Period. But it sucks a little more when the place you are moving to is like moving to a different planet. "Clary! Time to go! The trucks packed!"

I sighed, looking around my room one last time. The walls were bare, my art painted over white on the walls. Looking out the window, I took one last look at the grassy hills and the blooming, colorful flowers and the apples growing on the trees. I took one last look at the mailbox that had once said 124 FRAY and then + Lewis in messy fingerprint, with a purple and yellow handprint pair behind it. Even when we were eight, Simon's hand was bigger than mine. I'd delayed the move in every single way, signing up for everything I could. I now knew how to crochet, how to milk a goat, how to dye a giraffe without harming it, and how to tell twins apart, as well as the tango. I still sucked at all but one. Here I had danced since I was three, here I lost my first tooth, here I lost my last one. Here I'd taken my first steps. In the art store near the interstate I'd said my first words. I'd gone my whole entire school career here from 4-k to graduation. This place made-up who I was, and it made it so hard to let go. "Clary! Come outside _now_!" I ran my hand against the wall and closed my eyes, running down the stairs before I could make myself cry again.

It was my turn to drive and my mom was sleeping in the passenger seat when we made it into the city. My eyes widened, and my mouth dropped open. The sun was just setting, so the water was reflected a vibrant orange and the lights started to come on in each spiring buildings. I'd seen pictures and video of this, but seeing it in person didn't even compare. I followed the GPS and made it to the place where I would spend the rest of my life, at least until collage ended. I had an audition for Juliard on monday. I shook my mom awake, and then we started unpacking the contents of our whole lives and lugging it up the stairs into the apartment building. It was colder than I was used to, and I suddenly wished for a hoodie. As we moved ourselves in to the apartment, my mom straightening up the kitchen and me retreating into my new room. I climbed atop the bare mattress, gazing out of the two winds that were right beside it's spot backed against the one wall. I sat my chin on my hands and watched the city people pass by, from business men to moms with babies to business women to runners to teens to collage kids to everything. As time moved on, the passerby came few and far between. I pulled on my pajamas and made the bed, snuggling under the comforter. I watched the people carry on their way as my eyes fell shut.

* * *

**I'm no stranger to moving, so I know how it feels. Anyone with me? Something very interesting will happen in the first chapter. This was just sort of a prologue to shape Clary's character. You like?~Mermaid12108 **


	2. Chapter 1: Veins

My hands shook as I sat in the waiting room, wishing they would just call my damn name already. "Clarissa Fray?" I looked up at the lady holding the clipboard and stopped picking at a lose thread on my dress. "The judges are ready for you." I stood up and uncrossed my legs, the burgundy dress whispering across my knees. My mom had bought it from a store called Waldorf Designs and presented it to me that morning. My heels—which felt so foreign to me, making my feet hurt and made me almost a foot taller, at least that's what it seemed like-made sharp noises that bounced off of the wide, broad walls. I stopped in the middle of the well-lit stage, facing the panel of judges and the empty seats behind them.

"State your full name and age." A woman in the middle said, folding her hands together on top of her clip board.

"Clarissa Adele Fray, eighteen."

"You will be given a word and you are to draw whatever comes into you're mind. Your word is veins." I turned to the giant sketch pad that stood on the easel and closed my eyes, taking a deep breath. It's just you._ I told myself_. _They aren't even here_. I picked up the lead stick and began to draw.

In the end, I had drawn a girl with curly hair sitting on a grassy hill, her back to the viewer as she stared at the fading sun. Lines raced across the ground and then wrapped around her legs and arms, twinning around them like vines. Each star had a lightning strike coming from it, stopping just above the girls head, and shoulders. The sky was dark with the departing sun's ruins. Stars started to show themselves but just barely, and the moon emerged the slightest, emerging from the side of an apple tree. I set the charcoal and lead and turned to the judges, my pulse pounding and my hands sweating but thankfully not visibly shaking. "What does your picture say that pertains to the word veins, Ms. Fray?"

"I think that our veins are what make us up, what we are made of, save for a few important things. In this picture you see that this is where the girl belongs, and it's grounding her. It makes her up. If she were to be placed anywhere else, she would not be herself."

_But she's trying her hardest_. I thought as I finished explaining.

"Very good, Ms. Fray. Your results will be mailed to you." The woman said, going to town on her clipboard. That was it? My whole future in just a few word exchanges and a picture? As the lady with the clipboard led me to the exit, I decided that it was.

* * *

As I stepped into the apartment and shut the door behind me, my mom looked up from her HGTV magazine. When she saw that it was me, she set it down and sat up straighter in her chair. "How did it go?"

"I don't know? Good? Bad? Horrifying? Those judges have the most expressionless faces in the history of faces."

My mom laughed and picked up her magazine again, shaking her head. "You'll be fine, Clary."

"Oh, really? How do you know?"

"I just do, miss attitude."

"If you say so. Is it okay with you if I go out tonight?"

"Yes, but be home by curfew."

Seeing my look, she laughed again. "I'm kidding. But try to be home before one."

"I'll try, but with all the one night stands I have planned..."

"You are horrible. Truly horrible."

"Love you too, mom." I walked to my room and shut the door, kicking off my shoes and collapsing on the bed. I felt like a creepy stalker girl always staring out the window at random people. I didn't know why, but it calmed me. Took my mind away from the fast pace of the city, even though they were all still rushing around. I sighed and rolled onto my back, pushing off of the bed and onto the wooden floor. I changed out of the dress and into shorts and an off-shoulder top. I wanted to dress for the occasion, but I also wanted to dress like myself. I put on lip gloss, some mascara and some eyeliner, which was a big effort on my scale. Throwing my phone and keys into my pocket, I went into the living room. Mom had fallen asleep in her chair again. I put a blanket over her, and then wrote her a note, placing it on top if her phone and left, closing the door quietly behind me.

* * *

I clutched the bright green flyer in my hand as I tried to navigate the busy streets. Come on, it was bound to be here somewhere—bingo. I got in line behind a group of punk kids, feeling out of place. "Hey." A kid with green dreads said. "Sweet hair. Where'd you get it done?"

"Gene central."

"Where?"

"Meaning it's natural."

"Nah, man. No way." He didn't have time to make fun of my hair anymore, because the line moved up.

"I.D." I gave the scary-looking bouncer my I.D. and walked into the club as he waved me in. All I could say was _day-um_. I could feel the vibrations of the music all through my bones, and pulsing light made the darkness outside non existent but still managed to keep it's own darkness inside of the club. I made my way over to the bar, leaning against it. I didn't have the level of courage needed to go onto the dance floor, not yet. "Hi." A voice said next to me. "Can I buy you a drink?"

I turned around and I swear, it would be a miracle of my mouth didn't fall off.


	3. Chapter 2: Acid

"Um, sure." I said and then turned to the bartender. "Cherry coke, please." I'd never drank underage, and I never planned to. "Just a coke?"

I nodded, suddenly really nervous. I'd never had the best track record with guys—basically it didn't exist. "Can I ask your name, coke girl?" I looked into his odd eyes, not-so-stealthily biting my bottom lip.

"Clary. How about you, golden boy?"

"Oh, no, bad high school memories coming back."

He seemed like the popular kind, but then again I wasn't supposed to judge—

The look disappeared from his face and then was replaced with a grin and amusement. Of _course. _

"I'm kidding. Besides, can they be considered memories if I just graduated?"

With a bang, the fizzy brown drink appears in my side line of vision, saving me from saying anything in return. I reach for it, but a tan hand snatches it before I can. The boy smirks at me, the drink in his hand. "What about you, Clary? Got any collage plans?"

"Yes, but it's none of your business."

"Ouch. I'm Jace, by the way." He finally handed the drink to me, our hands touching. I tried to keep the shiver that took over my nerves down, but I was as jumpy as a squirrel, which meant that it wasn't possible.

"You've never been here before, have you?" Jace asked as I took a long sip. I winced as the carbonation in the drink exploded in my throat. "How can you tell?"

"Well, if you're hanging by the bar, you're either new or a hooker. You don't look like a hooker, so I shot for the only other option."

I choked on my drink, coughing as the bubbles attacked my throat. "Um, thanks?"

"Don't mention it. Pan-die-mon-ium is pretty boring on a thursday night, but I know another place that is a lot more alive." He glanced at the bartender rolling his golden eyes (Were those contacts?). "Relax, Tim, you know your club is awesome."

"I thought it was pan-demon-ium." I said, confused. Did this boy not know how to pronounce stuff or…?

He stared at me for a moment, and after a few seconds of uncomfortable staring, I finally got the pun. "Oh…"

Did that smile ever leave his face? If I looked closely, it appeared to be a smirk. God, he must be cocky. He probably thought I'd see him naked within the hour, and that I'd be all over him. I'd been voted most likely to refuse a dare in the yearbook, so…why not egg him on and then burst his pretty little bubble?

"But, about that place. Is it still open?" I gave him a grin that was a little on the seductive side. The look in his eyes said that he'd won. Ha. Little did he know. I took his hand and followed him out of the club. Nervousness churned in my stomach, pleading with me that this wasn't going to end well, but I forced it down. No more being careful. I wanted to live while I still could. Night had fallen, and as Jace hailed a cab I looked across the city, at all of the beautiful lights and buildings, street corners and performers, all of the _life_. Before I knew it I was being tugged into the cab. I crinkled my nose at the smell. Jace saw it and laughed. "So, you're not only new to pandemonium, but you're new to New York as well."

I turned to him, felling my eyebrows furrow. "What makes you think that?"

"Because you're reacting to the cab like it's a blue turtle that has never taken a shower in it's life."

Oh. Well I guess that did make sense, then. "Yeah, well you would be right. I'm from Tennessee, actually—and if you say 'Well, great, because you're the only ten I see', I will be forced to reshape your nose with my fist."

"Nah, don't worry about that. Chessy, overused pickup lines aren't my style."

"And I'm guessing charm is?"

"I knew I liked you for a reason. Well, you're hot, but besides that."

What about _me_ could be considered_ hot? _

"Thanks, I guess."

"Eh. I bet you hear it all the time."

No, not really.

With the screeching of old breaks, the cab lurched to a holt. "Here we are." Jace leaned over and opened my door for me, and I got out. This club seemed so much more than pandemonium, and so out of my league. The title seemed to be painted onto the sign. _Acid_ glowed green on the sign, blaring out against the black backdrop. I could hear the electro dub step music from here, and I swear the green lights almost reached my toes. "Come on." Jace tugged on my hand, leading us up to the bouncer. "Hey Hodge. Can you get me and Clary in?"

The bouncer nodded, and lifted the rope, holding the rejects and the others waiting in line back with his hand. As soon as we stepped forward in doors, I was jerked into a room, and so was Jace, but he was grinning and I was screaming. "Relax! Madeline's cool." Oh, so my captor had a name then. Was that supposed to make it better or something? The room I'd been pulled into was full of neon glow, ranging from paint to glow sticks to—oh. I didn't know people glowed. 'Madeline' looked me up and down, her glowing purple lips twisting. "So, you're Jace's pick for tonight, huh?" So I wasn't the only one who could sniff out a player, then.

"Sort of."

"Sort of? How is that?" She asked as she disappeared behind a black curtain. It apparently wasn't that far because she could still hear me.

"I'm not much of a daredevil, and I'm getting ready to go to collage, so I thought I should live a little, and—well, the plan is to lead him on, and then—pop. There goes his ego bubble."

She came out of her curtain-wall grinning. She was also holding something neon with a lot of strings. "I know just the thing to do it."

* * *

I stared at myself in the mirror, denial making my palms sticky. The neon pink dress hugged my body and made me look like I actually _had_ curves. Little slices of the fabric crisscrossed across my stomach and my back, the rest of the skin left bare. True, it was a small gap, and it also just held the two dress pieces together, but my record was nothing, so it was a big step. My hair was tussled with streaks of neon color in it, and my makeup was all neon. My nails were neon colors (how did _that_ happen so fast?) and my shoes were…interesting. Circles of paint circled both of my upper arms, and glow sticks hung around my wrists, and neck. My sandals were glowing neon, the straps winding around my legs, feet, and toes (which were also painted neon). "Bongzo."

I turned around. "What?"

"It's something I used to say to replace damn."

"Oh."

"Go get him, girl." I grinned at her, and let her lead me out of the room. On the way out, she pressed a small button. When I emerged back into the hallway, so did jade. He was also all blowy, just not as much as me. His eyes widened when he saw, me but then his smirk was back in place. He then took me hand and led me under the curtain. I now got why they called it acid.


	4. Chapter 3: Acceptance Of Denial

I had this big plan. So, naturally, it all went to hell.

The sound of a lawnmower woke me up. I opened my eyes, groaning as the bright light forced the pain of being stabbed through my skull. Hangovers: _Not_ a good thing. I threw my legs over the side of whatever I was sleeping on. As I stepped down, my foot caught on what felt like a blanket. Well at least now I knew I was on a bed. I else noticed another thing pretty quickly. I was sporting the birthday suit. My eyes widened as I looked down at my self and to what I had thought was just my imagination. Jace snored in his sleep. He also had a impressive chest. _Clary, you stupid piece of idiot. What have you done? _My brain accused me. I grabbed my clothes, which had ended up in some corner. I didn't even begin to ponder how that happened. I pulled on my clothes (the neon mess was gone, all of it. It was now just my regular old clothes) and my shoes. I got the heck out of there, using the GPS on my phone to find my way back home. I ran up the steps, slamming the front door. I made a beeline for my room, slamming that door too. I listened for a few moments, but no sound came except the sound of the air conditioner buzzing through the walls. I sat down on my bed after discarding my coat. As I starred at my half empty closet, my shoulders shook with a heavy hiccup. It was just one, and then another, and then so masny that I couldn't keep count. I laid down on my pillows, not bothering to move the comforter from under me. Tears streamed down my face in streaks, not able to erase last night, no matter how much I wished they could.

"Clary?" I must have fallen asleep, because when I opened my eyes again, the sun had moved in the sky.

"Yeah?" I sat up, wiping my hand across my eyes in case there were any tears left. There weren't.

My mom shook an envelope in her hands and then handed it to me. I took it from her and tore open the adhesive seal, taking out the letter inside. I read it as I unfolded it.

_Ms. Fray, we are extremely delighted to welcome you into our Juliard family. Below, you will find the information needed to... _

I didn't even bother reading the rest. I'd gotten in. I'd made it. "Well? What does it say?"

I smiled up at my mom. It felt sad at happy at the same time. "That your baby's a Juliard girl." My mom grinned and hugged me. I squeezed onto her tightly, closing my eyes. She pulled away far earlier than I would've liked her to. "Sweetie, are you okay?" Concern deepened her green eyes so much like mine.

I mustered a happy smile. "Right as rain."

"Okay. Do you want some lunch? Chinese?"

"That sounds great."

As she shut the door behind her, my smile fell. _Maybe I should've auditioned for acting instead. _


	5. Chapter 4: Move In Day

**I'm trying to get better with the mistakes, but sometimes I skip over things or don't have time to spell-check. I hope you guys like this. But please let me know, did I go a bit overboard? I feel like a bit of a author slut. Someone asked if we'd get to see what led to Clace's one night stand, and the answer is yes, but in do time. Enjoy.~Mermaid12108**

* * *

Move-in day seemed unbelievably hectic. How could people have so much_ stuff? _And weren't animals banned from campus? Or maybe that was just some collages. And apartments. Yeah, I knew a whole lot of nothing. It only took me forever to find my dorm room. (That had to be a new record.) I'd requested a single. I didn't do well with roommates, as proven with the year Jonathan and I had shared a room. I'd put Nair in his shampoo, he'd put purple food coloring in my mouthwash, and it had kind of went downhill from there. I hauled the biggest, (but thankfully last) box to my room, hoping no one was there because I couldn't see anything over the stupid thing. Something, I'm not sure exactly what, sniffed my leg and dropped something in front of my foot. Now wasn't exactly the ideal time to play catch, but this mystery animal didn't seem to care. I hopped over the chew toy, pretty damn proud of myself when my feet landed safely on the ground and the box stayed put. Of course, when I stepped forward I ran into something, and I tilted back, knocked off balance. The heavy box also decided then that if it was going down, so was I. My back hit the tiled floors that covered the hall outside our dorm rooms, and I mentally cursed my art supplies for being so freaking heavy. I sat up and twisted around to where my stuff had scattered, shoving things into the box with more force than was probably needed. The person I'd collided with reached over and started helping me pick things up and drop them into the cardboard box. When there was only one tube of paint left we both reached for it at the same time, and when our skin touched I froze, then jerked my head up. I found myself meeting gold eyes. Gold eyes I'd remembered roaming every inch of my body, and full lips I remembered kissing. My breath caught in my throat, not quite able to wedge it's way out. It took a few tries, but finally, I found my voice. "T—thanks for helping me." I stuttered out before I threw the tube of gold sunrise in with the rest of it's buddies and bolted for my door. I didn't allow myself to breath until the door was closed and I leaned against it. I slid down in, burying my face in my hands. Shit. Just shit.

* * *

I stared as the steaming latte dribbled into the cup. The _Nesspresso _gurgled as it fulfilled my request for a chocolate spice latte. I was so focused on the foamy brown liquid that I didn't notice someone come up behind me. As a hand touched my hip, I spun around, meeting gold eyes. My back curved against the counter as he caged me in on all sides. "Hey, red." He said, and my breath caught. I'd had my full of ass-slaps and come-ons. None of those sleaze balls had effected me like this, so I had no idea why he did. _Because he actually won the prize. _Whispered that insanely annoying voice in the back of my mind. "Please get off of me." I said, finally pulling my eyes up to his. My heart pounded as fast as a humming birds, threatening to pounce out of my chest and strangle me. He shrugged his shoulders, never taking his eye off of me. Their intensity threatened to make me melt like the chocolate in my latte. "I'm not holding you down. If you want me to move, you can make me." He had a point. My brain told my arms to shove him away, but my arms didn't comply. As his hand that wasn't cupping my hand moved to caress my arm, my brain went to very bad, very naughty places. _Tell him to stop. Make him go away. Kick him in his jewels, something! _My brain commanded of me, but I was about 6000% done listening to it. "So what was earlier about?" Jace asked, but I was only partially listing. Most of my attention was focused on his fingers moving up and down my arm in soft strokes that turned my skin into a pile of fireworks and hot coals at the same time. "I mean, if last week was that bad, then boy is my face red, but..."

"Maybe I'm just to embarrassed to be seen with you." I shot back, gaining some of my sense back. But if he kept doing what he was doing, I was pretty sure I'd lose it again. His hand moved from my hip to my back, trailing over the skin that my shirt left exposed.

"If that were the case, then you'd already be gone."

"You're an asshole."

"I've been told that a time or ten. Look, I'm not trying to be a psycho perv or anything, but—"

His words cut off mid-sentence, because, being the massive idiot that I am, I'd kissed him.


	6. Chapter 5: There's No Undoing The Done

****Warning, this is inconceivably short, but I wanted to give you guys something, and I'm in a bad mood because my tiny, cute little hamster just bit the dust. And if you got the movie reference I just made, you are a cool cookie.****

He tasted like dark chocolate and salt, a mixture that made my senses spin. His hands gripped my back, pulling me so close to him that no part of us didn't touch. I entertained myself with exploring his sculpted muscles with my hands, marveling at how his t-shirt pulled taught over them, revealing a chest that belonged on a statue of a god. His hands touched me everywhere I wanted, and never where I wanted at the same time. His golden locks slipped so silkily over my fingers, like they were made to fit there forever. He smelled like the best thing in the planet, like a dark forest and cherries. Everywhere his fingers touched me, my skin felt like it was just recognizing it existed, zapping to life. His hands found their way up my t-shirt, warm against my back. A shiver raced across my spine as his fingers ran down my bare back, grabbing the edge of my shirt and pulling over my head. I leaned back on the counter, tipping over the coffee in the process. Warm liquid spread across the counter, in my hair, on my neck and shoulders. the heat was nothing compared to the inferno Jace's lips mad as they trailed across my neck, and up to my ear. His lips brushed across my ear as her whispered "Wake up, Clary."

I woke up with a gasp. I sat up, throwing the blanket of me and letting the cold air wash over my hot skin as the dream played over in my head. God, I was a dream slut.

* * *

I didn't care what time it was, even though it was one in the morning. I needed to talk to her. I bounded up the steps and pressed the buzzer over and over, pulling my black coat closer. It was starting to get really cold in new york, and way to early than I wanted it to. I heard footsteps pounding across the foyer, and then my mom threw open the door. "Clary?" She asked, looking puzzled when she saw me. My chest constricted as I looked at her. Warm tears leaked out of my eyes and slid down my cold face. "I messed up mom." I said, trying to talk over a sob. "I messed up really bad." Her face softened as she gathered me in her warm embrace. I wrapped my arms around her torso, crying into my moms shoulder for the first time since I was 10. But I knew this was worse than a broken leg. Much worse. A broken leg could be fixed, undone in time, like it had never happened in the first place. But I couldn't do that, no matter how much I wished I could.


End file.
